Global monitor says famine is weeks away in north Gaza. A US diplomat calls warning ‘irresponsible’

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading global food crisis monitor says deaths from starvation will likely pass famine levels in north Gaza as soon as next month. The U.S.-created Famine Early Warning System Network says that’s owing to a near-total Israeli blockade of food and other aid in that part of Gaza. The finding, however, appears to have exposed a rift within the Biden administration over the extent of starvation in northern Gaza. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, disputes part of the data used in reaching the conclusion and calls the intensified famine warning “irresponsible.” Northern Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its 14-month war with Hamas militants.